Aidy: Pressure on others

Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd gave his reaction to the 2-1 defeat of Cardiff City at Vicarage Road.

The gaffer believes that the pressure is not on promotion-chasing Watford but on their free-spending rivals; second-placed Sheffield United and fourth-place Leeds United. 'There's no doubt that clubs like Sheffield United and Leeds are under more pressure than we are here,' Boothroyd told the club's official site after the victory over play-off–chasing Cardiff.

However, Aidy acknowledged that expectation is mounting across Hertfordshire following the way that the Hornets have played throughout the current Championship campaign. “But there is growing expectation here and that's something I will enjoy dealing with. After all, we've created that situation for ourselves with what we're achieving. “No one is getting carried away, though, and I wouldn't expect anyone to do that because that would show we're losing focus on what's important - the next game,” said Boothroyd whose troops have their feet firmly on the ground.

The 17,000-strong Yellow Army went home smiling after victory but it was not in the manner that the fans have become accustomed to in recent times. 'We're enjoying ourselves and we like to send the fans home smiling. It didn't happen quite as comfortably as we hoped today, but we got the three points and we're still pushing for automatic promotion,' said the gaffer.

Watford dominated their Welsh opponents for the majority of the match but unusually failed to make the most of their chances and went in nil-nil at half time. 'You always want to score in your good periods so it was a shame we weren't ahead at the break. “I thought we were fantastic for large parts of the first half,” commented Boothroyd. 'Ultimately, we've nearly let Cardiff back in for a point so there's plenty to learn from. A five to 10-minute spell let them back in and gave us another challenge which we overcame,' added Aidy.

The boss also had a word for Man of the Match Malky Mackay who headed home Watford's opener. 'Malky's got a great track record at set-pieces and even if he doesn't score himself his presence alone can create chances for others. “It was a great header from an excellent cross by Hameur and, at that stage, no more than we deserved,” said the manager.

However, focused Boothroyd refuses to get carried away despite his team's form and believes that promotion-chasing Watford have to take each game as it comes. “We've set our sights on automatic promotion, that's no secret, but, like I've said, we're going to attack each game as it comes and not get carried away with looking any further than that,' explained Aidy.